Evaluation of serum miR-216a and miR-375 as biomarkers in dogs with acute pancreatitis

Background: Serum microRNAs have emerged as biomarkers of various diseases. Overexpression of serum miR-216a and miR-375 occurs in dogs with experimentally induced acute pancreatitis (AP). Objectives: To identify the possibility of using serum miR-216a and miR-375 as biomarkers for the diagnosis and evaluation of treatment response in dogs with naturally occurring AP. Animals: Twenty-one dogs with AP and 20 healthy dogs. Methods: Cross-sectional study. The relative expression of serum hsa-miR-216a-5p, cfa-miR-216a, and cfa-miR-375 were analyzed using reverse transcription and real-time PCR. Results: A significant difference in the serum expression of cfa-miR-375 was found between dogs with AP (median [interquartile range] 3.59 [1.55-24.52]-fold) and healthy dogs (0.81 [0.54-2.21]-fold, P <.001), and no significant differences were observed in hsa-miR-216a-5p and cfa-miR-216a (P >.05). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of serum cfa-miR-375 for differentiating between AP dogs and healthy dogs was 0.84 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.71-0.96). The expressions of hsa-miR-216a-5p and cfa-miR-375 were positively correlated with the concentrations of serum C-reactive protein (r_s =.46, r_s =.48, respectively), but not with the serum specific canine pancreatic lipase. The expression of cfa-miR-375 was significantly less after treatment in dogs with AP (P =.02). Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Serum cfa-miR-375 could be a potential biomarker for the diagnosis and evaluation of treatment response of AP in dogs. In addition, miR-216a and miR-375 could be associated with inflammatory processes in dogs with AP.